Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

Governance and history

The gardens are governed under the Royal Botanic Gardens Act 1991 by the Royal Botanic Gardens Board, who are responsible to the Minister for Environment.

In 1846 Charles La Trobe selected the site for the Royal Botanic Gardens from marshland and swamp.

In 1857 the first director was Ferdinand von Mueller, who created the National Herbarium of Victoria and brought in many plants.

In 1873 William Guilfoyle became Director and changed the style of the Gardens to something more like the picturesque gardens that were around at that time. He added tropical and temperate plants.

In 1877 Sir Edmund Barton, Australia's first Prime Minister and Jane Ross were married at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

In 1924 a shooting massacre occurred at the Gardens resulting in the death of four people.

In June 2015 the Gardens brought together the elements of the organisation under the name Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, incorporating Melbourne Gardens, Cranbourne Gardens, the National Herbarium of Victoria and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology.

Horticulture

Living collections at Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne include:

• Aotearoa New Zealand
• Araucariaceae
• Australian Forest Walk
• Australian Rare and Threatened Species
• Cacti and Succulent
• Camellia
• Climate Ready Rose Collection
• Cycad
• Eucalypt
• Fern Gully
• Gardens House
• Grey Garden
• Guilfoyle's Volcano
• Herb and Medicinal
• The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden
• Lower Yarra Rivver Habitat
• North American Drylands
• Palm
• Perennial Border
• Quercus
• Southern Africa
• Southern China
• Terrestrial Orchid Collection

Ecology

The gardens include a mixture of native and non-native vegetation which invariably hosts a diverse range of both native and non-native fauna. The gardens host over 10,000 floral species, the majority being non-native species. The gardens were the origin from which many introduced species spread throughout south-eastern Australia as seeds were traded between early European botanists in the mid-19th century, studying the Australian flora.

Native vegetation

From the establishment of the gardens in 1846, much of the native vegetation was removed as botanists such as Baron Von Mueller planted a range of species from around the world. While initially much of the native wetlands and swamplands in the gardens were left, around the turn of the 20th century these were re-landscaped to create the Ornamental Lake. Despite this, however, there are some large eucalypts remaining including the prominent Separation Tree, a 300-year-old River Red Gum, under which Victoria was declared a separate colony. In August 2010 the Separation Tree was attacked by vandals and then attacked again in 2013, by 2015 it was dead and removal of the canopy and branches commenced. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne focus solely on Australian native plants.

Non-native traditional gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne were initially intended to be a horticultural exhibition for the public to enjoy, many seeds were traded between early European botanists such as Arthur and Von Mueller, who planted non-native species. The Queen and her grandfather, Dame Nellie Melba and Paderewski contributed plantings on occasions throughout the history of the gardens.

Plant science

Since its earliest days, the Royal Botanic Gardens is involved in plant research and identification. This is done primarily through the National Herbarium of Victoria, which is based at the Gardens. The Herbarium is also home to the State Botanical Collection, which includes over 1.5 million dried plant specimens, and an extensive collection of books, journals and artworks. Research findings are published in the journal Muelleria, which is a scientific representation of the work done in the Gardens in any one year. More recently, the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology has been established to look at plants that grow in urban environments specifically.

Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden

The 5,000 Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden is designed as a discovery area for children of all ages and abilities. The Ian Potter Children's Garden, named for the Ian Potter Foundation, is based in South Yarra, off the main site. This area is closed for two months of the year from the end of the Victorian July school holidays for rest and maintenance.

In 2004 or 2005 The Magic Pudding sculpture, by Louis Laumen, was unveiled in the garden. The concept for the garden was developed by Simon H. Warrender (son of Simon George Warrender and Pamela Warrender), who also commissioned the sculpture, through Committee for Melbourne's Future Focus Group, which was founded by Pamela. Simon Warrender announced the establishment of the annual prizes to be awarded by his Melbourne Prize Trust at the unveiling.

The Tan

Outside the exterior fence of the Royal Botanic Gardens is a 3.8 km jogging loop known as the Tan Track or simply the Tan. It was built in the 1900s as a tanbark horse riding track; before later being converted for jogging and surfaced with a fine tan-coloured gravel, except along Anderson St which is paved. Clocks and distance markers were installed in 2011, and the track is the most well-known and well-used jogging track in Melbourne.

Gallery

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Eastern Lawn 2018.jpg|Eastern Lawn Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Fern Gully 2017.jpg|Fern Gully Image:Melb botanical gardens.jpg|A section of the gardens in winter Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne Oak Lawn 2017.jpg|Oak Lawn Image:BGM Herb Garden.jpg|The Herb Garden Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne The Terrace 2017.jpg|The Terrace Restaurant Image:Royal Botanic Gardens (Entrance Gate).jpg|The main entrance gate Image:Plan_of_the_Government_House_reserve_Botanic_Garden_and_its_Domain_indicating_the_principal_plantations%2C_Ernst_Bernhard_Heyne%2C_1825_-_1881.jpg | Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

References

References

1. "Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria - Cranbourne Gardens". Visit Victoria.
2. "Our Organisation".
3. "Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV)". [[Global Biodiversity Information Facility]].
4. "Cranbourne Gardens: worthy of a royal title". Melbourne Retirement Communities.
5. Thiers, B. (2020 - continuously updated). National Herbarium of Victoria Collections Summary. ''Index Herbariorum. A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium.'' Available from: [http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/herbarium-details/?irn=125813 MEL Collections Summary] (accessed 21 August 2020)
6. "Herbarium".
7. "Our Story". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
8. [https://brightoncemetery.com/massacre-at-the-botanical-gardens/ Massacre at the Botanical Gardens] Retrieved 11 January 2020
9. "The Botanic Garden's Mass Murderer". Odd Australian History of the Berwick/Pakenham region.
10. "Our Story Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria".
11. "Explore Living Collections at Melbourne Gardens".
12. [https://archive.today/20120629091929/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/20/2988828.htm Police probe 'sickening' attack on historic tree - ABC News], accessed 2 September 2010
13. Carolyn Webb. (13 February 2015). "Canopy of dead Separation Tree in Botanic Gardens to be lopped". [[Fairfax Media]].
14. Jeff Sparrow. (7 January 2015). "Well done, humans. We've killed Melbourne's Separation Tree". [[The Guardian]].
15. "Our Journal: Muelleria".
16. (n.d.). "The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden". Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.
17. "About".
18. (1 July 2020). "The Magic Pudding".
19. "Tan Track". Only Melbourne.